Decommissioning Projects - France 
(last updated 22 Jul 2008)
> See also: Decommissioning Data - France
French Radiation Protection Authority issues first national inventory of former uranium mine sites
At the request of the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development (MEDD
) , the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) has launched the program MIMAUSA (Mémoire et Impact des Mines d'urAniUm: Synthèse et Archives).
In cooperation with the mining company COGEMA, IRSN has compiled a national inventory of former uranium mine sites in France, comprising not only the major mine and mill sites, but also many minor exploration sites, totalling 185 sites across the country.
> View IRSN Dossier Les mines d'uranium (in French)
> Download Inventaire National des Sites Miniers d'Uranium, Version 1, IRSN, Avril 2004 (1.9M PDF - in French)
Pluralist expert group releases second report on uranium mill tailings deposits in Limousin area
On Jan. 16, 2008, the pluralist expert group (Groupe d'Expertise Pluraliste - GEP ) in charge of assessing the environmental situation at the former uranium mine sites in the Limousin area released its second report.
> Download Rapport d'étape du Groupe d'expertise pluraliste sur les sites miniers d'uranium du Limousin, Janvier - Juin 2007 (2.9MB PDF, DRIRE Limousin - in French) · alternate source (GEP)
In addition, the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) released a detailed report on the environmental impacts in the catchment areas.
> Download Expertise globale du bilan décennal environnemental d'AREVA NC, 2ème partie: impact environnemental à l'échelle des bassins versants et évaluation de la surveillance, DEI/SARG/2007-042 , IRSN, Décembre 2007, 390 p. (8.7MB PDF - in French) · alternate source (IRSN)
Unannounced sampling of effluents finds no exceeding of standards
From Nov. 21 to 24, 2006, DRIRE performed unannounced sampling of effluents at Areva's various decommissioned uranium mining sites in the Limousin area. None of the samples surpassed the applicable standards.
Elevated gamma radiation was identified in the valley of the "ruisseau des Petites Magnelles" creek, caused from sediments and contaminated soil found downstream from the Bellezane site.
> View DRIRE announcement, March 2007 (in French)
> Download Rapport Contrôles inopinés AREVA - Division Minière de La Crouzille, Novembre 2006 (3.9M PDF - in French)
Pluralist expert group releases first report on uranium mill tailings deposits in Limousin area
On Feb. 6, 2007, the pluralist expert group (Groupe d'Expertise Pluraliste - GEP) in charge of assessing the environmental situation at the former uranium mine sites in the Limousin area released its first report. The group had been appointed by the ministries of the Environment, Health and Industry on June 28, 2006.
In its first report, the group mainly looks at the Bellezane uranium mill tailings deposit. The GEP recommends to develop a better understanding of the site hydraulics, to search for possible diffuse sources of contamination, and to perform a quantitative assessment of the efficiency of the tailings cover, among others.
> View Diffusion du premier rapport du groupe d'expertise pluraliste sur les anciennes mines d'uranium en Limousin (DRIRE Limousin - in French) · alternate source (GEP)
In addition, the Institute of Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) released a detailed report on the Bellezane uranium mill tailings deposit and its environmental impacts.
> Download Expertise globale du bilan décennal environnemental d’AREVA NC 1ère partie : stockage de Bellezane et impact environnemental à l’échelle du bassin versant du Ritord, DEI/2007-01 , IRSN, Janvier 2007, 179 p. (4.9MB PDF - in French) · alternate source (IRSN)
DRIRE considers necessity of additional impermeable covers on uranium mill tailings deposits in Limousin area
DRIRE Limousin (Direction Régionale de l'Industrie de la Recherche et de
l'Environnement) finds that a hydrogeoligical report presented by Areva/Cogéma does answer the authority's questions regarding the water balance at the decommissioned uranium mine and mill sites in the Limousin area. DRIRE rather suspects that the permeability of the covers on top of the various uranium mill tailings deposits in the area is too high, and that the construction of additional impermeable covers is necessary. The installation of such impermeable covers had already been demanded in Cogéma's license, unless some study would prove that they weren't necessary. The study now presented by Cogéma is not seen as such proof by DRIRE Limousin.
> Download: AREVA COGEMA, MONTMASSACROT, SITE INDUSTRIEL DE BESSINES, LE FRAISSE, FANAY-AUGERES, MARGNAC-PENY, BELLEZANE, Expertise hydrogéologique, Rapport , Burgéap, 30 Octobre 2006 (22M PDF - in French)
> View: Note de la DRIRE suite à l'expertise : Une expertise à compléter sur l’étanchéité des stockages de Bellezane, Montmassacrot et SIB (in French)
> See also: Cogéma en Limousin (DRIRE Limousin - in French)
French Geological Survey calls for improvements in environmental monitoring of decommissioned uranium mine sites in Limousin area
In reply to Cogéma's ten-year survey of decommissioning of uranium mines in the Limousin area, the French Geological Survey BRGM calls for improvements in the environmental monitoring performed at several sites:
- a more detailed analysis of the acid generating potential at the waste rock piles and of possibly resulting spread of contaminants into the environment, and the construction of better measures to contain the contaminants in the long term,
- an analysis of the radon retention properties of the cover layers applied to the uranium mill tailings deposits; cover design was based on experience with some test plots, but no quality assurance measures were taken during cover construction, and no assessment of cover performance was done after placement.
> Download: Bessines-sur-Gartempe (87), Tierce-expertise du bilan de fonctionnement décennal des installations COGEMA, Rapport final , BRGM/RP-54976-FR, Octobre 2006 (1.1M PDF - in French)
> See also: Cogéma en Limousin (DRIRE Limousin - in French)
Cogéma/AREVA NC is applying for the authorisation to dump radioactive slurries from the treatment of mine water and contaminated sediments recovered from ponds in the former Bellezane open pit. The pit already contains uranium mill tailings originating from the former Bessines uranium mill. The tailings are covered with a rock cover. The slurries would be dumped on top of the rock cover.
From 27 Feb 2006 to 29 March 2006, a public inquiry was held on the proposal:
Enquête publique relative à la demande d'autorisation de stockage de boues de curages de stations de traitement des eaux d'exhaure minière et de sédiments de curage d'étangs dans la mine à ciel ouvert de Bellezane déposée par COGEMA sur les communes de Bessines sur Gartempe et Bersac sur Rivalier, Enquête publique du 27/02/2006 au 29/03/2006
By arrete DRCLE 2006–792 dated 4 May 2006, the prefect of Haute Vienne installed a "Commission locale d'information et de surveillance" (CLIS) for this project. The commission comprises representatives of the administration, AREVA, and environmental organizations.
(RAA du 23 mai 2006 p.36-37)
The independent radiation monitoring group CRIIRAD opposes the project:
CRIIRAD communique of 14 June 2006: (MS Word) · (PDF) (in French)
CRIIRAD technical note of 15 June 2006:
(MS Word) · (PDF) (in French)
A judicial inquiry was initiated against Cogéma for "pollution, abandonment and waste deposits" at several sites located close to old uranium mines in the Haute-Vienne department in central France.
The inquiry goes back to a complaint filed by the association Sources et Rivières du Limousin in March 1999. The complaint alleged Cogéma to have polluted several rivers which cross the old mining area. The five most
contaminated sites were close to the communes of Bessines, Compreignac,
Razès, Saint-Sylvestre and Saint-Pardoux.
According to the association France Nature , this pollution also affects the lake of Saint-Pardoux, a major recreational site in the area. In addition, the contaminated rivers feed one of the drinking water reserves of the town.
(AFP Sep. 7, 2002)
Cogema, however, maintains that elevated uranium concentrations found in the rivers are caused from natural sources. Any mine waters from the old mines are treated before release. (Cogéma Sep. 7, 2002)
On August 18, 2003, the examining magistrate decided to send Cogéma back before the Criminal Court of Limoges, although the public prosecutor wanted the case to be closed. The decision was, however, appealed by the public prosecutor's office.
(SRL/FNE Aug. 26, 2003, Le Figaro Aug. 27, 2003)
On March 25, 2004, a Limoges appeals court dismissed the public prosecutor's appeal and sent Cogéma back before the Criminal Court of Limoges. (Le Monde 25 Mar. 2004)
> Download:
CRIIRAD communiqué March 26, 2004 MS-Word / PDF ·
Annexe (Repères chronologiques) MS-Word / PDF (in French)
On March 29, 2004, Cogéma filed an appeal against this decision.
> Download France Nature press communique: Apr. 1, 2004 (PDF - in French)
On Nov. 3, 2004, the Court of Cassation dismissed Cogéma's appeal, and Cogéma finally acknowleged that it has to appear in the Criminal Court.
(Cogéma Nov. 3, 2004)
Cogéma will first appear in the Criminal Court of Limoges on June 24, 2005.
(Figaro Apr. 8, 2005)
On Oct. 14, 2005, the Criminal Court of Limoges followed the public prosecutor and cleared Cogéma of the charge of polluting Haute-Vienne.
(La Croix Oct. 14, 2005)
On June 28, 2006, the Limoges Appeals Court approved the decision of the Criminal Court.
On May 31, 2001, the Le Bernardan uranium mine at Jouac (Haute Vienne) produced its last ore. It was the last active uranium mine in France. The uranium milling operations at the site will continue for a few months.
The mine had opened in 1978 as an open pit, and from 1984, operations continued as an underground operation. It has produced a total of 8000 tonnes of U.
Elevated radiation levels found around decommissioned St Pierre du Cantal uranium mine site
The independent laboratory CRIIRAD has identified elevated radiation levels at several public locations around the reclaimed site of the former open pit uranium mine and uranium mill at St Pierre du Cantal. Concentrations of radium-226 in soil on public grounds were found at up to 76,000 Bq/kg (that is up to 700 times the natural level in the area). There exist no use restrictions for these areas.
Concentrations of radon-222 surpassing the 1000 Bq/m3 action level were found in several buildings. In a public building, constructed on soils contaminated with radium-226, a concentration of radon-222 of 5000 Bq/m3 was found, while in neighbouring buildings, constructed on natural soils, concentrations were only 62 Bq/m3.
On the decommissioned site itself, residual contamination by yellow cake was found at the former mill site, with concentrations of uranium-238 of more than 3 million Bq/kg. On parts of the site, the gamma radiation and the release of radon-222 gas is 5 to 100 times background. The radioactive materials present on site lead to contamination of surface waters, with high concentrations of uranium-238 accumulating in stream sediments.
> View CRIIRAD release Nov. 29, 2007, and related documents (in French)
Elevated radiation levels found at decommissioned St Pierre du Cantal uranium mine site
The independent laboratory CRIIRAD has identified elevated radiation levels at the reclaimed site of the former open pit uranium mine and uranium mill at St Pierre du Cantal. External radiation dose rates reached up to 1.25 µSv/h, total alpha radiation in groundwater 27.2 Bq/L, and total beta radiation in groundwater 23.4 Bq/L - all in excess of the applicable regulatory limits. CRIIRAD, therefore, calls for a suspension of the currently ongoing procedure of license termination for the site.
(CRIIRAD Apr. 28, 2004)
> Download CRIIRAD communique Apr. 28, 2004 (PDF - in French)
In the Puy-de-Dôme department in central France, there had been 11 small uranium mines in operation between 1948 and 1979. At Rophin (community of Lachaux) there exists a uranium mill tailings deposit containing 30,000 tonnes. During visits of all these sites, the environmental organization Puy-de-Dôme Nature Environnement (formerly AEDELEC) performed some radiation surveys. The dose rates observed reached up to 46 micro-Sieverts per hour, in particular in the surroundings of the Rophin site, while the average dose rate on normal ground is 0.1 micro-Sieverts per hour. The organization now demands from the authorities to perform a more thorough assessment of the radiation hazards at these sites and to clean up the contaminated areas found at these sites. (Action Environnement - Lettre d'information 2001, No. 3)
The organization has produced the following documentary (in French):
- Les anciennes mines d'uranium dans le Puy-de-Dôme, Puy-de-Dôme Nature Environnement, Riom, 2001
It can be obtained from: Puy-de-Dôme Nature Environnement , 19, rue Chabrol, 63200 Riom, France
Old uranium mill of Le Bouchet being dismantled
The old uranium mill and uranium processing facility of Le Bouchet (Essonne) near Paris, France, will be decommissioned within 18 months starting Nov. 5, 2001. The mill processed approx. 9500 tonnes of high grade uranium ores between 1946 and 1958, before uranium mills were in operation near the uranium mines. A first decontamination took place in 1971. The uranium mill tailings resulting from the operation were transferred to the tailings deposit of Lavaugrasse near Bessines.
The plant also comprises a thorium processing facility, which, between 1957 and 1971, processed 5400 tonnes of thorium concentrates originating from Madagascar. This resulted in the production of 2892 tonnes of thorium and 935 tonnes of uranium.
(Le Parisien, Oct. 29, 2001; Davis 1997)
At a meeting on July 11, 2001, the local government decided to invest 5.5 million francs (US$ 700,000) on studies about the viability of a project of car racing tracks on the former site of COGEMA at Lodève (Hérault). This sum is to be equally matched by funds raised by the French motor sport association.
On the site there are 4.1 million tonnes of uranium mill tailings.
(Midi Libre July 12, 2001)
Cleanup at former St-Priest-la-Prugne uranium mine still uncomplete (Loire, France)
On July 2, 2008, the independent radiation monitoring group CRIIRAD released the results of a monitoring campaign performed in 2006-2007. According to CRIIRAD, the radiation monitoring conducted and the access restrictions to contaminated properties provided by Areva are inadequate; there still exist several contaminated properties that have never been cleaned up; residual contamination can still be found on properties that have been cleaned up by Areva; the treatment of the mine water before release is inadequate; and, questions remain on the long-term safety of the 1.3 million t of tailings deposited on site.
> View details (CRIIRAD, in French)
Authorities trying to locate disseminated material from former St-Priest-la-Prugne uranium mine (Loire, France)
4200 households in the Bois Noir area in the Allier and Loire departments in central France have received a questionnaire asking questions such as: "Do you own minerals from the uranium mine?", "Do you know ways, foundations of buildings, or terrain where material from the mine has been used?", "Is your home concerned?"
With this operation, authorities are trying to get hold of radioactive material that has been extracted from the former St-Priest-la-Prugne uranium mine. The mine had been in operation from 1960 to 1980, and since then material from the mine had been disseminated in the neighbouring area - with the consent of the then site owner (CEA and COGEMA). In Spring 2003, Cogema had to remove 8000 cubic meters of contaminated material, which had been used for the foundations of a sawmill.
The current recovery operation is the result of an eight-year struggle of the Collectif des Bois Noirs raising the awareness on the hazards from the old uranium mine.
(Le Figaro Feb. 4, 2004)
> Download Information notice with questionnaire ·
Questionnaire only (PDF, DRIRE Rhône-Alpes, in French)
> Download Summary of radioecological studies performed on the site (24 Oct. 2003) (PDF, DRIRE Rhône-Alpes, in French)
In a Feb. 6, 2004, news release, COGEMA maintains that the material released to residents between 1960 and 1980 was waste rock with only slightly elevated radiation levels - below standards applicable at that time.
Relocation of St-Priest-la-Prugne Uranium Mill Tailings (Loire, France)
The French nuclear fuel company COGEMA
plans to relocate the tailings of its former uranium mill at
Saint-Priest-la-Prugne (Dept. Loire, France) to the nearby
former open pit.
The existing tailings dam covers an area of 20 hectares and
holds 1.3 million tonnes of uranium mill tailings, containing
286 tonnes of uranium and 74.6 TBq of radium-226. The tailings
are covered with water and are stored behind a dam of 42 meters
height. The dam crosses the valley of the Besbre river, which
runs now through a diversion channel.
The open pit has a capacity of only 300,000 cubic meters, and
must therefore be enlarged for the relocation project. The whole
relocation process will take 7 to 8 years.
A report, prepared in 1993 for the Ministry of Environment, had
found that the present tailings dam does not meet the criteria
for a safe long-term disposal of the tailings.
This would be the first relocation of an existing uranium mill
tailings pile for permanent disposal in Europe. Similar
relocation projects were realized at several sites in the United
States, already.
The local environmental group Collectif Bois Noirs is
raising a number of concerns about the environmental impacts of
the relocation project:
- the anticipated increase of radon releases during the
relocation work, due to the removal of the water cover,
- the anticipated dust releases during the transport of the
material,
- the necessity to construct a new dam, since the open pit is
to small to receive all of the material,
- the instability of the underground of the proposed disposal
site due to extensive cavities of the former underground mine
beneath the site,
- the questionable suitability of the proposed waste rock
cover over the tailings for radon release mitigation,
- the unknown pathways of seepage after percolation of the
tailings,
- among others.
Sources:
INFO URANIUM No.82, Sept.-Oct.1996, p.12
La Gazette Nucléaire, No. 153/154, Décembre 1996,
p.27-29
Collectif Bois Noirs: Quel avenir pour les Bois Noirs?,
Septembre 1996, 19 p.
Elevated radiation levels found at former Rosglas uranium mine site
The Rosglas uranium mine in Bretagne was in operation from 1964 to 1975. It produced a total of 115 t of uranium from open pit and underground mining.
Monitoring of external radiation undertaken in April and May 2008 under surveillance of the independent laboratory CRIIRAD showed elevated external radiation levels at various locations, in particular at waste rock deposits.
> Download: Analyses radiologiques de solides dans le secteur de l’ancienne mine d’uranium de Rosglas (Morbihan), Note CRIIRAD N°08-119, 20 Juillet 2008 (1M PDF - in French)